Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by SteelerOpera

I got my samples today from Slumberhouse and was so excited and pleasantly surprised by Josh's generosity as I opened the package. I had heard so much about Norne and had just enough time to spray a bit and walk out the door for work. I loved how dense and dank it was and thought it was perfect for the ultra cold day we were having. With that I was a bit worried about wearing such a mystical fragrance to commingle with department store frags, but I had it under my sleeve.

Although I love Norne I was a bit surprised that I didn't get more longevity out of it. I could barely sense it on my 4 hours later. Not a bad thing at all, but with how thick this frag was and some of the other comments I read I thought it might last a week or 2. It wasn't a full wearing so I'm confident the longevity will be different next time.

I get home and next try Pear and Olive, what a neat one this is and I am getting some nice longevity and projection.

Looking forward to trying the others!

I had the same experience with my Norne sample. I mentioned it to Josh and he though it was weird and decided to wear it for himself, and sure enough, he got the 24 hour longevity everyone else gets. It's weird because Sova and many of the others last for 24+ hours on my skin, but for some reason Norne doesn't. It's not a dealbreaker for me, but it's a little saddening.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by OctaVariuM

I had the same experience with my Norne sample. I mentioned it to Josh and he though it was weird and decided to wear it for himself, and sure enough, he got the 24 hour longevity everyone else gets. It's weird because Sova and many of the others last for 24+ hours on my skin, but for some reason Norne doesn't. It's not a dealbreaker for me, but it's a little saddening.

Weird...I get insane longevity from Norne. It will last 24+ hours easily on me. I wore it yesterday and I was in a hurry and it sprayed only about half a spray and it lasted all day and all night. It amazes me how long lasting it is.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by OctaVariuM

I've been talking back and forth with Josh for weeks, and he was nice enough to allow me to use a $100 gift card to buy Sova. There were TONS of problems getting it to work, and in the end he gave me a slightly discounted price in order to get things to work. He really is a top-notch guy.

And I agree with Kybid. I've sampled the main 5 fragrances plus Sova and P+O the last few weeks, and while I didn't love them all (though I did really like Rume, odd that others don't), I really appreciate what he is doing. To be honest, I'd be proud to have any of them in my collection. He is a guy I will continue to support, especially now that he is exploring lighter, "easier to wear" fragrances for Spring.

Hmm. It sounds like somebody has some inside scoop here. What new lighter spring fragrances???

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by CompassRose

I placed an order for a full bottle of Sova a couple weeks ago (after agonising long and hard between Sova and Jeke).

I haven't sampled the whole line, but I have sampled both of those myself - and I am also torn between them. They're a bit alike, in texture...they both have that old, forest, sweet spice thing going on. I am not really a fan of strong tobacco notes, but the one in Jeke is really worn down and...warm. I think you made the right choice though, the weeks a month ago when I wore Sova were quite wonderful. There really is not another scent like it, except of course, Jeke.

I'm wearing Jeke right now, second night in a row that it's been my 'going to bed' scent. Makes the sheets and my night shirt smell wonderful!

Last edited by mikeperez23; 24th January 2013 at 02:44 AM.

"Human interaction can be hell. Or it can be a great spiritual practice."

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Tonyprince

Hmm. It sounds like somebody has some inside scoop here. What new lighter spring fragrances???

I do have a little information, but I'm not sure if I should really share what he said in a personal email. He is experimenting with some lighter fragrances, and is going to mix up a batch of one specific one in a few weeks to see how it works out. There is one specific note he is exploring a lot, but I'm not sure if it will be included.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by OctaVariuM

I do have a little information, but I'm not sure if I should really share what he said in a personal email. He is experimenting with some lighter fragrances, and is going to mix up a batch of one specific one in a few weeks to see how it works out. There is one specific note he is exploring a lot, but I'm not sure if it will be included.

Cool!

“When you step back from stressing the parts,
when the mind becomes still, the rose comes to you,
unfolds in you in all her glory.
The perfume invades you completely.
The rose is you. You are one.”

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by OctaVariuM

I had the same experience with my Norne sample. I mentioned it to Josh and he though it was weird and decided to wear it for himself, and sure enough, he got the 24 hour longevity everyone else gets. It's weird because Sova and many of the others last for 24+ hours on my skin, but for some reason Norne doesn't. It's not a dealbreaker for me, but it's a little saddening.

Yes, this is what Norne is like for me too. It's very quiet and retiring on me, as well. The others aren't projection monsters waving out feet in all directions when I wear them, but they have an intensity about them, you know, and I never forget I have them on. Norne, though, practically disappears into my skin even when it's fresh. "Oh, maybe you recently brushed against a pine tree. Perhaps."

Originally Posted by mikeperez23

I haven't sampled the whole line, but I have sampled both of those myself - and I am also torn between them. They're a bit alike, in texture...they both have that old, forest, sweet spice thing going on. I am not really a fan of strong tobacco notes, but the one in Jeke is really worn down and...warm. I think you made the right choice though, the weeks a month ago when I wore Sova were quite wonderful. There really is not another scent like it, except of course, Jeke.

I'm wearing Jeke right now, second night in a row that it's been my 'going to bed' scent. Makes the sheets and my night shirt smell wonderful!

Yes -- I totally felt they were in the same family! The only reason I went with Sova instead of Jeke in the crunch is that at the very end of the day, Jeke turns into something very reminiscent of Old Spice on me. I'm not averse to Old Spice at all, but it's disconcerting, as Old Spice smells like my dad.

I still haven't got my package. According to tracking, it left Oregon on January 9, so I'm sure hoping it didn't run into a Customs officer all bursting with New Year's zeal.

Re: Slumberhouse

I found Jeke a little hard to wear on first try. I wish Norne lasted longer on me.

QUESTION on that subject, does anyone think that these frags might have to be shaken up a bit? The reason I ask is because I sprayed this on a friend of mine at work and it came out really green on her skin. This was after my sample was tossled around in my coat and got shook up a bit before I sprayed it. I am going to shake my sample up next time I wear it and see if the longevity is a bit better. Any thoughts?

Re: Slumberhouse

I really liked Grev as an idea, but whatever bitter thing it shares with Kere makes my head feel funny.

My bottle of Sova finally arrived! I'm wondering if SteelerOpera has something on the shaking, because I found my sample of Sova got more and more smoky as I used it; the new bottle has just the hint of smoke with honeyed apricots that I first loved. (It also has a new wisp of something buttery floating around it. I caught a whiff of what I thought was buttered caramel popcorn while I was wearing a spray from the bottle out for the first time (not unlikely; I work in an office where people do microwave those popcorn packages now and again) and then realised it was me.)

Tragically, of the three samples Josh sent me, one was the uncomfortable Kere. One was Baque, though. Wearing it now. I like it. It's another one in the Slumberhouse Dark Brown Honeyed Liquors family, but although the first spray has an aura very much of aged single malt scotch about it (Lagavulin, or another peaty one) it's less smoky than either Jeke or Sova once it sits, and the sweetness seems a bit drier to me. It also includes a touch of what I'm pretty sure is camphor, which is a nice departure.

Re: Slumberhouse

Holy cow. I just got my samples in and I feel like I need to scrub my apartment down after testing them nearly 24 hours ago. My place is covered in the smell of Rume and Grev - not a pleasant thing in my opinion (and I've trashed my testing strips and stored the samples). Sova was the only wearable one in the 7 samples (with Pear + Olive being solid for a woman, I think) in my opinion. I like Norne as a smell but it's akin to wearing the smell you get when you walk into a Jo-Ann Fabric or Michael's around Christmas time here in the US. Not sure that's what I ever want other people smelling on me. Grev gave me a headache (I tried wearing it yesterday evening) with my going really light on the trigger. The clove note is insanely potent. Vikt and Jeke just were too overbearingly strong for my nose.

I appreciate what the house is trying to do, but this stuff is for serious fragheads who are cool with wearing super daring scents or just want to appreciate the juice in their home. That said, I'm happy indie perfume houses exist and I'll continue to try them as they come about.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Bostonguy

Holy cow. I just got my samples in and I feel like I need to scrub my apartment down after testing them nearly 24 hours ago. My place is covered in the smell of Rume and Grev - not a pleasant thing in my opinion (and I've trashed my testing strips and stored the samples). Sova was the only wearable one in the 7 samples (with Pear + Olive being solid for a woman, I think) in my opinion. I like Norne as a smell but it's akin to wearing the smell you get when you walk into a Jo-Ann Fabric or Michael's around Christmas time here in the US. Not sure that's what I ever want other people smelling on me. Grev gave me a headache (I tried wearing it yesterday evening) with my going really light on the trigger. The clove note is insanely potent. Vikt and Jeke just were too overbearingly strong for my nose.

I appreciate what the house is trying to do, but this stuff is for serious fragheads who are cool with wearing super daring scents or just want to appreciate the juice in their home. That said, I'm happy indie perfume houses exist and I'll continue to try them as they come about.

Yeah, I'd say Slumberhouse takes some time to appreciate. Wear each one a few times, take note of the subtle nuances, and then consider what you've smelled. It's pretty amazing, and some of these fragrances are extremely unique and indeed daring.

Re: Slumberhouse

Funny how people are different, isn't it? For me, most of the Slumberhouse scents aren't daring in the least; I find them very comfortable, and I by no means qualify as a "serious fraghead" either.

On the other hand, I had a similar experience to Bostonguy... with the two Amouage samples I ordered last month. Gah. Ack. Yeurgh! Nearly killed me. I had to cart the blotters out with the quickness to the outdoor trash can.

Re: Slumberhouse

My personal favourite is Vikt - together with Leather Oud, the best oud base fragrance for me. Smells like it contains real, natural oud (or how I imagine that to smell).
Norne is very good after the overbearing first 30 minutes or so.
Grev is interesting but takes getting used to.
With the rest, I have not enough experience to state an opinion at this point.

Re: Slumberhouse

My personal favourite is Vikt - together with Leather Oud, the best oud base fragrance for me. Smells like it contains real, natural oud (or how I imagine that to smell).
Norne is very good after the overbearing first 30 minutes or so.
Grev is interesting but takes getting used to.
With the rest, I have not enough experience to state an opinion at this point.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Bostonguy

Holy cow. I just got my samples in and I feel like I need to scrub my apartment down after testing them nearly 24 hours ago. My place is covered in the smell of Rume and Grev - not a pleasant thing in my opinion (and I've trashed my testing strips and stored the samples). Sova was the only wearable one in the 7 samples (with Pear + Olive being solid for a woman, I think) in my opinion. I like Norne as a smell but it's akin to wearing the smell you get when you walk into a Jo-Ann Fabric or Michael's around Christmas time here in the US. Not sure that's what I ever want other people smelling on me. Grev gave me a headache (I tried wearing it yesterday evening) with my going really light on the trigger. The clove note is insanely potent. Vikt and Jeke just were too overbearingly strong for my nose.

I appreciate what the house is trying to do, but this stuff is for serious fragheads who are cool with wearing super daring scents or just want to appreciate the juice in their home. That said, I'm happy indie perfume houses exist and I'll continue to try them as they come about.

Your reaction is by no means unusual, I feel the same as you about the line in general. Different strokes etc.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Bostonguy

Holy cow. I just got my samples in and I feel like I need to scrub my apartment down after testing them nearly 24 hours ago. My place is covered in the smell of Rume and Grev - not a pleasant thing in my opinion (and I've trashed my testing strips and stored the samples). Sova was the only wearable one in the 7 samples (with Pear + Olive being solid for a woman, I think) in my opinion. I like Norne as a smell but it's akin to wearing the smell you get when you walk into a Jo-Ann Fabric or Michael's around Christmas time here in the US. Not sure that's what I ever want other people smelling on me. Grev gave me a headache (I tried wearing it yesterday evening) with my going really light on the trigger. The clove note is insanely potent. Vikt and Jeke just were too overbearingly strong for my nose.

I appreciate what the house is trying to do, but this stuff is for serious fragheads who are cool with wearing super daring scents or just want to appreciate the juice in their home. That said, I'm happy indie perfume houses exist and I'll continue to try them as they come about.

I would encourage you to try P+O. It is thoroughly unisex. In fact, the drydown is like a beautiful caramelized cognac with some very intricate herbaceous and floral underpinnings. It works superbly as a masculine.

I think the rest of your assessment was arrived at fairly. I love this line, but I am definitely what you call "a serious fraghead," and I love to treat my nose to things that it hasn't known before.

My initial reaction to Norne was the same as yours. Fir smells have been appropriated my air fresheners and Christmas crap, and I thought I didn't want to smell like that. Then I thought about it and realized it's kind of genius to wrest those beautiful aromas back from their usurpers and make a deep, elegant fragrance from them. It has a little "fuck you" in it, which I love. Norne is now one of my favorites from this line.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Brian Chambers

I would encourage you to try P+O. It is thoroughly unisex. In fact, the drydown is like a beautiful caramelized cognac with some very intricate herbaceous and floral underpinnings. It works superbly as a masculine.

I think the rest of your assessment was arrived at fairly. I love this line, but I am definitely what you call "a serious fraghead," and I love to treat my nose to things that it hasn't known before.

My initial reaction to Norne was the same as yours. Fir smells have been appropriated my air fresheners and Christmas crap, and I thought I didn't want to smell like that. Then I thought about it and realized it's kind of genius to wrest those beautiful aromas back from their usurpers and make a deep, elegant fragrance from them. It has a little "fuck you" in it, which I love. Norne is now one of my favorites from this line.

To be fair, Norne is probably my favorite scent from the line based on my initial impressions. I just don't know when/where I'd wear it. It evokes a misty forest really well, so I could see putting it on while reading on a cold winter morning or something.

I'd say I'm a serious fragrance guy but I need utility out of my scents. I will never open Rume or Grev again, that's for sure. I'll ship them off to someone to try.

Re: Slumberhouse

So according to Slumberhouse's twitter feed, Grev, Rume and Vikt have been discontinued.

There will also be a price increase (don't know how much, but I think it will still be worth the price if you love their scents, as I do).

Also, I noticed that the one picture they have on the twitter feed has "Ore" and "Kere" in engraved bottles, which probably means that these unavailable fragrances have been retooled and will be re-released at the somewhat higher price.

I got my 7 piece sampler set from him. It came super fast and in a nice velvet pouch.

Unfortunately I don't like any of them. I like pear and olive as maybe a room scent spray, but I wouldn't want to smell like it. My fiancé liked Grev. She says it smells fresh. I offered to buy her a bottle, but she declined, saying that she wouldn't want to actually smell like it.

The rest I didn't like whatsoever. In fact, there's one that reminded me of spoiled cabbage. I'll have to look at my notes for the name.

I was pretty disappointed with the scents. But wouldn't mind trying some more stuff in the future!

Re: Slumberhouse

^^^ Yep, there's the dope on the Slumberhouse shakeup.

While Josh's scents may be unconventional, considering his integrity and the sort of success he's has been having, along with the admirable approach he takes with all his customers, I sure can't fault the guy for wanting to put some groceries on the table.

Re: Slumberhouse

I actually really appreciate the way he is doing this price increase.

Instead of jacking up the price of a 50ml bottle to 150 (or more), he is just increasing the price / ml but lowering the amount of ml in a bottle, which means, for example, that those looking to buy Pear + Olive as a scent will actually pay less for a bottle ($125 vs $150). This amounts, in price per bottle, to a rather modest, $10 increase in most cases, and to a decrease for Pear + Olive. Classy move.

I don't know about the rest of you, but for scents as rich as these, 30ml will probably last me a LONG time... Also he is making them all extraits, and so upping the quality in the process!

I just ordered Jeke a couple days ago and wonder if I got the "new" reformulation (extrait) or the older one. I sure would like to try the more concentrated versions (and actually by the look of the rich, almost black juice, I think he might have even given me the extrait)!

The only thing I am disappointed by is that I thought he was going to re-release Ore (which I have been looking to get a hold of since I tried a sample), but so far, no news on that front. Oh well!

Re: Slumberhouse

So according to Slumberhouse's twitter feed, Grev, Rume and Vikt have been discontinued.

There will also be a price increase (don't know how much, but I think it will still be worth the price if you love their scents, as I do).

Also, I noticed that the one picture they have on the twitter feed has "Ore" and "Kere" in engraved bottles, which probably means that these unavailable fragrances have been retooled and will be re-released at the somewhat higher price.

Personally, I'm al little disappointed by this. A few days ago Norne was 50ml for $115, now it's 30ml for $125 ? I don't mind small price increases for the same quantity, but a price increase for less quantity ? Hmmmm.......

Re: Slumberhouse

The only thing I am disappointed by is that I thought he was going to re-release Ore (which I have been looking to get a hold of since I tried a sample), but so far, no news on that front. Oh well!

He mentions we keep "an eye on the ltd. page" in his most recent update. So if you're interested in Ore (as am I), try doing that.

BTW, what do you guys think of all the bottles now containing those little marbles? Personally, I'm not crazy about the idea and think the novelty will wear off eventually. But of course that doesn't change my opinion on this exceptional house.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Buysblind

BTW, what do you guys think of all the bottles now containing those little marbles?

I don't like the marbles personally either. I know that technically they shouldn't effect the quality of the juice, but it's just weird to have them rattling around in the bottle. I wonder if we couldn't buy a 50 ml bottle without the marbles for the same price per ml.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Paul P

Personally, I'm al little disappointed by this. A few days ago Norne was 50ml for $115, now it's 30ml for $125 ? I don't mind small price increases for the same quantity, but a price increase for less quantity ? Hmmmm.......

Bad move Josh !!

He changed the strength to extrait though, so while you are getting less juice, it should last you longer. I'm okay with the move. I wrote out a long email and sent it to him, but the gist of it is that I hope he gets to make more great stuff for us, and that, if you look at it like Nassomato, you still get 30mL for something like $40 less than you do from them, and this is a guy using super high quality ingredients and doing it all himself.

In short, I'd much rather give a little more money to Josh than I would buy some other fragrance if I know I like his.

Re: Slumberhouse

Yeah, the way I look at it, a perfume (or anything really) is worth what you will pay for it... these prices are personally not dealbreakers for me, though I could understand how they could be for some people. I find these prices still reasonable for extraits personally--like octavarium says, compare these extraits to those from other houses. And I do think that the increased prices will enable him to source some interesting materials and put together some new stuff.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by gtsb

I don't like the marbles personally either. I know that technically they shouldn't effect the quality of the juice, but it's just weird to have them rattling around in the bottle. I wonder if we couldn't buy a 50 ml bottle without the marbles for the same price per ml.

They don't rattle around. They stay perfectly quiet (and still, I think, at least I've never seen them move). I like the way they look and I also appreciate that I can continue to buy bottles that will look nice with the ones I already have.

Originally Posted by Paul P

Personally, I'm al little disappointed by this. A few days ago Norne was 50ml for $115, now it's 30ml for $125 ? I don't mind small price increases for the same quantity, but a price increase for less quantity ? Hmmmm.......

Bad move Josh !!

I don't get this. I'm sure he'd sell you a 50ml bottle at the same price per ml if you feel strongly about having the larger quantity. I appreciate that he's trying to keep the price point accessible.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Brian Chambers

They don't rattle around. They stay perfectly quiet (and still, I think, at least I've never seen them move).

Yeah I was being totally nitpicky. The only thing is that I have to travel back and forth a lot since my wife lives separately from me, so when I took Sova once on the plane in a ziploc bag, it was rattling in my backpack--but under normal conditions, if it were just staying put where it is, you are right, the marbles are not self-agitating or anything like that.

Honestly it doesn't really matter, the art is what counts and the stuff inside is amazing.

Re: Slumberhouse

So my guess is that hes still using the same 50ml bottle but hes adding marbles and only 30ml content inside? My bottle of Jeke is in the same bottle design without the marbles!

Correct. He mentions that in the blog post.

Oh, and by the way, I think when he starts shipping in a week or so I'm going to finally buy Norne. It's now extrait strength, and he said he's going to do something very special for me (it's a secret).

Re: Slumberhouse

Here's a little bottle porn. I wasn't going to post this, but I think it lends some support to keeping the same bottle for the new 30ml offerings. Esp. for those of you who are kind of OCD about their collection.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Brian Chambers

Here's a little bottle porn. I wasn't going to post this, but I think it lends some support to keeping the same bottle for the new 30ml offerings. Esp. for those of you who are kind of OCD about their collection.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by Brian Chambers

I don't think Sova is getting stronger. It's already sold in the 30ml size.

well...

These are all being concentrated slightly stronger than before, moving all of my releases from esprit de parfum to true parfum extrait. Norne and Sova were already quite strong, but both are even stronger. You’ll notice Jeke is now almost pitch black like Norne.

Re: Slumberhouse

Don't mind the price increase, don't mind eliminating some of the less popular options and I don't even mind the marbles...

BUT

Eliminating bottle caps?!?!? I'm not really OCD or anything, but why would Josh do that, I associate bottles without caps to be testers. I know Josh thinks its a waste to have bottle caps, but its a pretty big deal to me and I assume to others as well who like the uniform look of the entire line when put next to each other. Bottles without caps just look weird to me.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by RunSun

Don't mind the price increase, don't mind eliminating some of the less popular options and I don't even mind the marbles...

BUT

Eliminating bottle caps?!?!? I'm not really OCD or anything, but why would Josh do that, I associate bottles without caps to be testers. I know Josh thinks its a waste to have bottle caps, but its a pretty big deal to me and I assume to others as well who like the uniform look of the entire line when put next to each other. Bottles without caps just look weird to me.

Re: Slumberhouse

Originally Posted by RunSun

Don't mind the price increase, don't mind eliminating some of the less popular options and I don't even mind the marbles...

BUT

Eliminating bottle caps?!?!? I'm not really OCD or anything, but why would Josh do that, I associate bottles without caps to be testers. I know Josh thinks its a waste to have bottle caps, but its a pretty big deal to me and I assume to others as well who like the uniform look of the entire line when put next to each other. Bottles without caps just look weird to me.

From what I know, it's because the new sprayers don't have caps that come with them. He changed them so they are much better apparently.

Re: Slumberhouse

I tested Vikt this weekend. I loved it so much, I wore it ALL DAY yesterday (at home, to the gym, after the gym/shower, etc). Those black liquorice top notes are addictive, part of the reason why I wanted to reapply it was to replay that wonderful dry/sweet anisic/dark texture. Love! Still, I can see how the scent sort of disintegrates an hour or so into wearing it into a more Slumberhouse-house-note that made it difficult for me to differentiate it in my mind from Sova, Jeke and Ore - the other Slumberhouse scents I've tested numerously.

I have a little bit left, perhaps for one more full wearing and I can't wait to wear it again.

To say the least it is sad that I'm hearing this one is officially discontinued.

- - - Updated - - -

Originally Posted by Brian Chambers

Brian, the second one (from the left) is Sova? The third one (from the left) which one is that? Norne?

"Human interaction can be hell. Or it can be a great spiritual practice."